THE BASICS:
 
- Score: No. 2 MIT 4, No. 3 Wellesley College 0
 
- Records: MIT (13-4); Wellesley (10-7)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Jack Barry Field)
 
- The Lead: Two goals during the first five minutes of action powered No. 2 seed MIT to a 4-0 win over No. 3 Wellesley College in the semifinals of the NEWMAC Field Hockey Tournament on Thursday night. With the win, the Engineers secured a spot in the championship game for the fifth straight season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- MIT opened the scoring after 1:12 elapsed. On a penalty corner, senior Lucy Kitch-Peck (Bethlehem, Pa.) sent in a blast from the top of the arc. Almost three minutes later, the Engineers scored off of another penalty corner. Senior Laura Chen (Califon, N.J.) injected the ball to first-year Ashley Lederman (Villanova, Pa.) who unleashed a strike from the far side of the arc to the near post.
 
- The hosts increased their advantage to 3-0 in the 24^th minute when junior Erica Radler (Wayne, N.J.) tapped in the ball during a scramble following a penalty corner.
 
- Alex Lenart almost ended the shutout almost three minutes into the third quarter. She intercepted the ball inside the top of the arc and drew senior goalie Juliana Strother (Mequon, Wis.) off her line. Lenart attempted to place a shot towards the far post but Strother made a diving stop.
 
- During the next three minutes, MIT produced five shots on goal and earned five penalty corners before finding the back of the net in the 37^th minute. On a penalty corner, Lederman struck the ball from the top of the arc and it deflected off junior Paige Forester's (Glencoe, Ill.) stick for what proved to be the final goal of the night.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- The Engineers recorded their eighth shutout of the season. Senior Kiely Smiga-McManus (Etna, N.H.) played the first 30 minutes and earned the win while Strother registered MIT's only save of the night during her 21 minutes of action. First-year Jordan Tierney (St. Louis, Mo.), meanwhile, finished out the game for the Engineers.
 
- Kyra Deehr-Lewis amassed 13 saves for the Blue, including eight during the third quarter.
 
- MIT led the way in shots (20-4), shots on goal (17-1), and penalty corners (12-4).
 
UP NEXT:
 
- MIT will travel to nationally-ranked No. 3 and top-seeded Babson College for the NEWMAC Championship game on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 12:00 p.m. This will the fourth time in five seasons that both squads will battle for the conference title. The Engineers won in 2019 and 2017 while the Beavers were victorious in 2016.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.